Seats for Lok Sabha MPs: B S Yeddyurappa jumps gun?

Bengaluru: Will the BJP stick to all its 16 Lok Sabha MPs from Karnataka and renominate them as candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls or accede to the pleas of party workers in several constituencies and give the ticket to new faces?

The possibility of some MPs losing out cannot be ruled out though BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa had declared that all sitting MPs would get tickets. Sources said when Mr Yeddyurappa approached national president Amit Shah with his list of candidates, he was asked to evolve a consensus among Karnataka leaders and get the list approved by the all powerful state core committee. In fact Mr Shah reportedly asked Mr Yeddyurappa if his list was approved by the core committee and the former CM replied in the negative.

Mr Shah’s logic was that some sitting MPs including those in Mysuru-Kodagu, Udupi – Chikkamagalur, Belagavi, Bidar and Bagalkote were facing anti-incumbency and stiff resistance from party workers and wanted Yeddyurappa to sort out these differences and get the disgruntled elements on board.

Left with no option, Yeddyurappa on his return from Delhi, has embarked on a mission to sort out the internal differences and on Thursday, visited Chikkamagalur and Sringeri, sources explained.